Honor, duty, country: Jersey’s Tuttle will be softball Cadet at West Point

Jersey’s Tuttle bound for West Point

Greg Shashack, gshashack@thetelegraph.com

Updated
9:57 pm CDT, Tuesday, March 26, 2019

JERSEYVILLE – Duty, honor, country.

Brooke Tuttle signed on for that commitment with the United States Military Academy at West Point on Monday morning at Jersey Community High School.

“It means the world to me,” Tuttle said after her document signing before a large support group in the JCHS lobby. “It’s a dream come true. I’ve dreamt about this day for a couple years now and it’s finally here.”

The Jersey Panthers senior will also realize a longer held dream of playing Division I college softball when she joins the Black Knights and Army athletics in the Patriot League. Tuttle, a left-handed hitting shortstop, is batting .667 through six games out of the leadoff slot for the Panthers.

“Softball has always been a part of my life,” said Tuttle, also a state qualifier in golf and a starter in basketball for Jersey. “From when I was extremely young, my dad and my mom have always helped me become the player I am today. Every summer of my high school, middle school, elementary school career, I have played softball. I’ve always played, it’s always been a part of me, and it’s always been my dream to go play at the next level.”

Tuttle moved with her family from Sullivan in Eastern Illinois to Jerseyville in May 2017 when her father took the superintendent’s job at Jersey. But she retained her elite-level club softball affiliation with Mattoon-based Premier Fastpitch, an organization started by Dan Paulson in 2011.

Jersey’s Brooke Tuttle (right) goes over the situation with coach Chelsey Crnokrak (left) and Panthers baserunner Shelby Koenig during a Bunker Hill meeting on the field Monday in Jerseyville.

Jersey’s Brooke Tuttle (right) goes over the situation with coach Chelsey Crnokrak (left) and Panthers baserunner Shelby Koenig during a Bunker Hill meeting on the field Monday in Jerseyville.

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Greg Shashack | The Telegraph

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Greg Shashack | The Telegraph

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Jersey’s Brooke Tuttle (right) goes over the situation with coach Chelsey Crnokrak (left) and Panthers baserunner Shelby Koenig during a Bunker Hill meeting on the field Monday in Jerseyville.

Jersey’s Brooke Tuttle (right) goes over the situation with coach Chelsey Crnokrak (left) and Panthers baserunner Shelby Koenig during a Bunker Hill meeting on the field Monday in Jerseyville.

Photo:

Greg Shashack | The Telegraph

Honor, duty, country: Jersey’s Tuttle will be softball Cadet at West Point

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Paulson made the drive to Jerseyville for Tuttle’s signing ceremony on Monday. He saw the attributes needed to become a cadet – only about 10 percent of those that apply gain admission to West Point – immediately in Tuttle.

“The determination,” Paulson said. “It was about three or four years ago when she first came to a tryout. There was just something about her, that first day. … She just battles through everything. She’s determined and this was the place she wanted to go.”

Seven of Tuttle’s Premier teammates had already signed to play Division I softball in college. But Tuttle is breaking new ground as a Premier alum headed for Army.

“This is the first,” Paulson said. “I’ve never had one come with that desire, to be honest with you.”

Tuttle may not have been that one without her attendance at the National Youth Leadership Forum on National Security in Washington D.C. in summer 2017. That trip, Jersey superintendent and Brooke’s father Brad Tuttle said, sparked his daughter’s interest in what he called “the three-letter agencies” of the federal government.

The path of least resistance to those careers start with acceptance to one of the academies – Army, Navy or Air Force.

“I thought about it around my sophomore year in high school. I’ve always wanted to serve,” said Tuttle, who first considered the ROTC route before seeking something more. “I found out about the academies and that was really interesting to me. I thought maybe, hey, I’ll give it a shot and here I am.”

The process is not so simple. First requirement is good grades and test scores. “That’s a whole other story,” Tuttle said with a smile.

She had those covered with a 4.256 gpa on Jersey’s 4.0 scale and a 28 score on the ACT. Applicants that clear those hurdles must obtain letters of recommendation, pass physical standards and write essays. They also must secure a congressional nomination.

“Thanks to Rodney Davis,” Tuttle said of the U.S. rep from Illinois’ 13th district. “I can’t thank him enough, also.”

West Point was always her first choice, but Tuttle also gained nominations to the Air Force and Naval academies. “It tripled the work,” she said of the application process.

Brad Tuttle confirmed, “Getting into West Point is a challenge in itself.”

Brooke Tuttle had a Plan B – college and softball at either Southeast Missouri or Indiana.

But Plan A – the academies – always had an A1. And that was the only military academy with a women’s softball program — Army. Of the 1,000 or so cadets admitted to West Point each year, about 200 are female.

Tuttle had no previous ties to West Point. “I’ve known people who know people,” she said.

But connections made last year in the Summer Leaders Experience during her first visit to West Point gave Tuttle first-hand “know people” status.

Now, Tuttle is ready to transition from “Beat CM” to “Beat Navy” and beginning a course of study in cybersecurity.

“I’ve always been interested in computers and computer science, kind of that engineering field,” Tuttle said. “I’m not going to lie, I don’t have experience in that, but it’s always interested me. So being able to go to West Point gives me the ability to try to expand in that field.”

Cybersecurity expertise will put Tuttle in demand for what she called a “career goal of being in the CIA.” That career pursuit can commence after a compulsory five-year stint of active duty with the Army after graduating and being commissioned as a second lieutenant.

Tuttle concedes, with her current cyber skills, cannot yet hack an iPhone. “Hopefully, someday,” she smiles.

What Tuttle can do now is express gratitude for all those who made Wednesday and West Point possible.

“I can’t thank my teachers, this community, enough,” Tuttle said. “They’ve done so much for me, this transition from school to school, and helping me get through the hard times. I’m so thankful for everybody who has gotten me where I am.”